Monday, January 19, 2004
|
MALIHINI MANHATTAN
Last night brought a lone vacationer to the bar. I pegged him as a malihini right off, in part because of the Seattle winter pallor, but also because most people around here don’t wear a coat and tie to order a Hawaiian burger and Mai Tai at the hotel bar.
I noticed that he wasn’t drinking his Mai Tai after tasting it, so I asked if it was all right, and he confessed it was a little sweeter than his usual drink, but he wanted to try it. His “usual” turned out to be a Manhattan, so I replaced the Mai Tai for him. One of a bartender's skills is judging when a patron would like to engage in conversation and when he/she would not. I correctly guessed yes. Turns out he is from Seattle, single, and on vacation from his accounting job. I did not ask why he was traveling alone. He is a guest at the hotel and has obvious good taste in this regard but if he expected to find a bevy of single females cavorting in the pool, he has been disappointed.
I got busy and didn’t get to talk to him much more, but he left a $5 tip. I don’t know if he’s generous or just didn’t have change, but I’m kind of hoping I’ll see him again while he’s here.
Last night brought a lone vacationer to the bar. I pegged him as a malihini right off, in part because of the Seattle winter pallor, but also because most people around here don’t wear a coat and tie to order a Hawaiian burger and Mai Tai at the hotel bar.
I noticed that he wasn’t drinking his Mai Tai after tasting it, so I asked if it was all right, and he confessed it was a little sweeter than his usual drink, but he wanted to try it. His “usual” turned out to be a Manhattan, so I replaced the Mai Tai for him. One of a bartender's skills is judging when a patron would like to engage in conversation and when he/she would not. I correctly guessed yes. Turns out he is from Seattle, single, and on vacation from his accounting job. I did not ask why he was traveling alone. He is a guest at the hotel and has obvious good taste in this regard but if he expected to find a bevy of single females cavorting in the pool, he has been disappointed.
I got busy and didn’t get to talk to him much more, but he left a $5 tip. I don’t know if he’s generous or just didn’t have change, but I’m kind of hoping I’ll see him again while he’s here.
Comments:
Post a Comment
